Electronic messages including e-mail, text message (e.g., SMS) and the like, are used on a daily basis to conduct personal and business affairs. Accordingly, such means of communications are commonly accepted as trustworthy communications from the senders. However, electronic communications are generally not secure and are subject to misuse by individuals attempting to commit fraud. For instance, techniques referred to as “phishing” are employed to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details (and sometimes, indirectly, money) by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. By way of further example, fraudsters commonly spoof an electronic address (e.g., an e-mail address or telephone number) associated with a trusted individual to transmit harmful malware to the recipient or otherwise induce the recipient to perform some action that was not endorsed by the trusted individual.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and method for validating the authenticity of electronic communications between users. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide a system that performs such monitoring independently of the electronic message transmission systems used to perpetrate fraud. It is also desirable to have a system that provides message recipients notifications as to the authenticity of the messages and provides information concerning the trustworthiness of the message source. Similarly, it is desirable to have a system that provides the sending user notifications regarding the messages transmitted using the user's electronic address, so as to prevent fraudulent use.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.